Rasagiline is a selective irreversible inhibitor of monoamine oxidase enzyme Type-B (MAO-B) and has the chemical name N-propargyl-1(R)-aminoindan (“(R) —PAI”). Its structural formula is:
(R)-PAI is an active MAO-B inhibitor while the corresponding S-enantiomer (“(S)-PAI”) shows extremely low MAO-B inhibitory activity (U.S. Pat. No. 6,316,504). It has also been found that (R)-PAI has a degree of selectivity for MAO-B inhibition surprisingly higher than that of the corresponding racemic form (U.S. Pat. No. 6,316,504). The fact that (R)-PAI is more active than the racemic mixture for the inhibition of MAO-B is a reflection of the extremely low activity of (S)-PAI for inhibition of MAO-B (U.S. Pat. No. 6,316,504).
Rasagiline, its salts, preparation and use for the treatment of Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's Disease, memory disorders, stroke and other disorders have been the subject of numerous patents, including U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,387,612, 5,453,446, 5,457,133, 5,668,181, 5,576,353, 5,532,415, 5,599,991, 5,786,390, 5,519,061, 5,891,923, 5,744,500 and 6,316,504, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. Rasagiline formulations are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,126,968, the contents of which are also hereby incorporated by reference.